Folk Tales from Abroad

Two productions in one, “World Tales in Dance,” was a charming, crowd-pleasing afternoon of dance theatre. Hosted by the Saitama Arts Theater, it follows on from an extended series that started in 2006 with “Japanese Folktales,” vibrant, interactive theater that celebrates storytelling, now branching out into literature from around the world.

Performance

Place

Saitama Arts Theater, Tokyo, Japan, January 11, 2026

Words

Kris Kosaka

Chieko Ito, Nagisa Yamaguchi ,and Memi Shinozaki in “The Kiosk.” Photograph by Hiroyasu Daido, courtesy of Saitama Arts Theater

First up was Chieko Ito’s production of “The Kiosk,” based on Latvian animator and illustrator Anete Melece’s work. Her 2013 video of the same name won numerous awards leading to a popular children’s book, later translated into Japanese.

Ito, who directed and choreographed the production, enjoys a reputation for quirky, uplifting dance storytelling after helming the avant garde company, Strange Kinoko (mushroom), for thirty years. In “The Kiosk,” Ito also starred as Olga, the owner of a small kiosk who finds freedom from the boundaries of her life through creativity.

Two other dancers, Nagisa Yamaguchi and Memi Shinozaki, take on all other roles. Their lively energy and humorous quick changes as the regular customers Olga meets, from a local jogger to dog walker, to eventually the two sneaky thieves who try to steal her merchandise, kept the young children in the audience delighted. Inventive props—colorful cars, a barking dog, the river at the side of the town that transforms to an ocean, the morphing kiosk itself—kept the action moving for adults as well.

Photograph by Hiroyasu Daido, courtesy of Saitama Arts Theater

Intermission was surprisingly delightful, with funny, impromptu songs echoing from backstage to the plunky sound of a xylophone as many of the younger audience members danced around themselves. The area directly in front of the stage had been transformed to floor seating, with cushions designating spaces, and many of the children took up these seats—shoeless, of course.

Ryohei Kondo—the voice behind the musical interlude at intermission and the Saitama Arts Theatre artistic director since 2022—launched the second production by coming onstage to chat with the children.

Kondo, long famous in Japan’s dance world as the founder of Condors, an award-winning contemporary dance company, acted as a sort of vaudevillian emcee throughout “My Neighbor Aesop,” the second performance of the day, which he also directed and choreographed.

Yosuke Okamoto and Kotone Yasaka in "The Fox and the Crow" from “My Neighbor Aesop.” Photograph by Hiroyasu Daido, courtesy of Saitama Arts Theater

Kondo’s impressive stage presence and musical skill set the perfect tone for his whimsical take on Aesop’s tales. He plays a variety of instruments to signal a scene change or to accompany the dancers, walking in and out of the action. His three dancers—Yosuke Okamoto, Kotone Yasaka and Masashi Nakamura—nimbly contorted their bodies and faces to become a variety of creatures. Together, they brought over a dozen different fables to life with some help from clever shadow puppetry. This production emphasized dance more than the first, and their synchronized, flowing trio work juxtaposed well against the more farcical scenes, like the opening “The Tortoise and the Hare,” featuring a mad-cap, cross-training Yasaka as the Rabbit while the quietly convincing Okamoto crawls across the stage as the tortoise.

Smart and slapstick, funny and wise: it was true entertainment for all ages.

Kris Kosaka

Kris Kosaka is a writer and educator based in Kamakura, Japan. A lifelong ballet fan and studio rat in her youth, she's been contributing to the Japan Times since 2009. She writes across culture, but especially in dance, opera and literature.

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